As an Illinois historian, I not only enjoy learning about our
state’s history, but I also enjoy presenting the stories and
photographs that make Illinois' history come alive. In my
opinion, the next evolution of a modern day historian is to
interact with history by allowing others to add to the richness
of the presentations with additional facts, photographs and
personal and family experiences. This is where a Facebook group
excels by allowing feedback, comments, videos, photographs and
images to be added to the presentations, enriching the
experience of all readers.

In October of 2012 I started the Facebook group
Living History of Illinois and Chicago®.
People from all walks of life have joined to participate in this
social history venue, forming one of the most interesting groups
on Facebook. This group hosts junior and senior High School
history and social studies classes with their educators, for
research and preparation of the Chicago Metro History Fair, the
Illinois regional Fairs, and the state competition on Illinois
History Day held in Springfield, Illinois.

I've recruited dozens of Illinois community, township and county
Historical Societies, History Museum Directors, Museum Curators
and career Historians to join the group. Many of the members are
in public service including Mayors and former Mayors from towns
and cities all over Illinois. In addition the group is loaded
with local media broadcasters, including news anchors and
researchers from NBC, ABC, CBS and other TV networks, plus radio
personalities from around the state.

I started the
Digital Research Library of Illinois History®
in 2013 to support student research. The Library is sanctioned by and linked from the
Chicago Metro History Fair and the Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency (IHPA), as an Illinois research resource for
students, educators and the general public. Included in the
Library are quite a few of my personal research papers,
including series about ‘Lost Town of Illinois’, ‘Chicago’s
Forgotten Neighborhoods’, and ‘Defunct Amusement Parks of
Illinois’.

Within the Digital Research Library of Illinois History®
is the
1893 World's Columbian Exposition Read Room™. The largest
collection of 1893 World's Columbian Exposition antique
searchable PDF books, documents and research papers online.
Included are special attractions and days at the Fair, and
unbelievable 3D rendered movie tours of the Fair.

Because of Facebook’s restrictions on each groups number of
posted images stored (approx. 5,000 per group) the oldest ones
are deleted when new posts are made, I found it necessary to
create a way of ‘Saving Illinois History, One Story at a Time’.
So in November of 2016, I started the
Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal™.
The Journal presents history in a verbose, friendlier format with
photographs, and advanced search functions. Being membership free, anybody online
can add their comments to the postings in the Journal.

To offset the costs of hosting and management fees for the
Digital Research Library of Illinois History®,
Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal™, and the
Living History of Illinois Gazette™, I opened an online store
with unique Illinois and Chicago logo’d items that I personally
designed or re-created;
Illinois History Store®.

It’s worth your time to take a look at these fantastic Illinois
history resources. Please JOIN the Living History of Illinois
and Chicago® Facebook group. Your knowledge and expertise will
be a valued addition.